By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce Beko guard Marko Guduric was spewing fire and raining down long-range buckets from every corner during Game 5 of the EuroLeague playoffs against Olympiacos Piraeus.
Be it with spot shots, tough pull-ups off the dribble, dispatching his personal opponent with nifty crossovers, creating a space for a smooth jumper, or releasing the ball over raised arms, Guduric hit a personal all-time best eight 3-pointers out of 12 attempts to finish with 26 points. Despite his extraordinary spree, the final result was an away defeat at the hands of Olympiacos.
So how does it feel when the hottest shooting night in his career so far doesn’t come with a win but is combined with such a tough loss in an elimination game?
“I wasn’t thinking about that,” Guduric told Eurohoops. “It’s not really about me. I was making tough shots. OK, they went in but overall the main thing is that they made us play a different game than what we played in the first four matches.”
Thanks to his festival of treys, Guduric became just the second player after Russian star Alexey Shved with eight triples in a playoff match and the first to make so many in a Game 5. His previous record was 5, reaching that number in multiple cases and in various competitions. As he revealed, he doesn’t recall any occasion, on any level and in any situation where he made eight 3-pointers.
All these mattered little, or none at all to Guduric who downplayed his blazing performance for two reasons: A) The result, and B) He didn’t consider his 3-pointers a product of an optimally-working offense. “Olympiacos stopped our low-post creation and low-post game,” Guduric said. “That’s why I had so many shots. And, honestly, they weren’t even good shots.”
Regardless, Guduric was one of the few reliable scoring options for Fenerbahce in Game 5 and the only one from beyond the arc since the rest of his teammates shot 0-15 overall. He even delivered twice the firepower of Olympiacos, since the Reds finished with 4 out of 19.
Guduric unleashed a flurry of four threes in less than seven minutes after he came off the bench near the end of the first period to push Fenerbahce towards taking a 29-30 advantage. But that was the last the Turkish side led in the game since Olympiacos responded with a 15-0 run and stayed in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the clash.
“They were just better,” Guduric acknowledged. “They came out with more energy and better focus. Obviously, they are a more experienced team.” The Serbian guard had previously highlighted the experience of players such as Kostas Sloukas or Kostas Papanikolaou as the key advantage of the Greek team. The first was the MVP of Game 5 with 22 points and six assists and the latter provided 14 points plus 11 rebounds.
“But we gave our fights,” Guduric added. “I’m very proud of this team. I think nobody gave us a chance that we’ll make it to Game 5. We had our chances in Istanbul and we all know what happened [with Sloukas‘ buzzer-beater].”
Fenerbahce, the 2017 EuroLeague champion, will be absent from the Final Four for a second straight tournament after 2019 (in 2020 the season was canceled). Guduric was a key part of that team, just before making the jump to the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Now, Guduric explained how his club should proceed in order to retrace its path towards becoming a Final Four staple. And he thinks the team that just beat them provides an example on how to succeed. “We just have to stay together,” he said. “Keep building on this. And we all know that Olympiacos is a team that are together for two-three years now. They know each other very well. I think that we should look up to them and keep the core of the team together. Maybe add some pieces and try to become a regular Final Four team, starting from the next season.”
The entire series wasn’t probably that much of a basketball spectacle but was packed with some physical battles to behold. Such was the case in Game 5, where Olympiacos clearly overpowered Fenerbahce in that department, fighting fire with fire.
“They were very, very physical,” Guduric said. “But I expected that. It’s very difficult to talk about that now but yeah, they are very physical. Guys like Isaiah Canaan, who’s known for being an offensive player and a shooter, is a very good defensive player as well. He found his role here.”
Guduric admitted to even being surprised by how Canaan was in his duties and how vigorously defended. “Of course,” he said. “You have to give him a big credit. Also, Thomas Walkup guarding Tyler, chasing him on the screens. Very good team. I wish them luck in the Final Four.”
There was a reason that Guduric specifically mentioned Canaan. The two of them were engaged in a couple of tough skirmishes on the court and had some heated interactions, getting in each other’s face.
No hard feelings after the game of course, but a lot of mutual respect from one baller to another. “It’s part of the game,” Guduric mentioned with a smile. “He was talking in English, I was talking in Serbian. But I have to speak my language. I have to talk in my language. It’s all part of the game. We shook hands after the game, acknowledged each other, paid our respects to each other. I wish him the best as well.”
Now, Fenerbahce will focus on defending the Turkish BSL League title. After the season is over, Guduric will turn his attention to to the Serbian national team.
“Of course,” Guduric said when asked if he’s committed to join Serbia this summer. “Let’s see how the season’s going to end but if I’m healthy, of course. I grew up that way. It’s not even a question. Most of the Serbian national team players feel like this. I just pray that we stay healthy and all the other guys are healthy so that we can play with the best possible roster.”